


Light

by orphan_account



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Anorexia, Delusions, Eating Disorders, F/M, Heavy Angst, Identity Issues, Recovery, Secret Identity, Self-Esteem Issues, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-31 11:27:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20114344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Alya waved.And she faked a smile; the first of many.





	Light

Marinette didn't know when she started.

Somewhere, between Chloe's influence and Adrien's perpetual friendship, she stopped eating.

Chloe had mentioned something about current trends, and had given Marinette a rather pointed once-over. The bluenette had huffed indignantly but allowed her curiosity to overcome her and ask the blonde what she was talking about. And Chloe had laughed and showed her an article.

'Slim down!' it read. 'These new diet pills will make you a woman of the future - buy them in bulk now!'

Marinette blinked several times in confusion and hurt. "Why would i need diet pills?"

Chloe conceded that point easily, shrugging. "I suppose you're not as heavy as you could be. I was just saying that you could stand to lose a few, like i have"

Marinette's eyebrows shot up into your hairline. "You've lost some?! You already looked underweight!"

Chloe looked smug at that, as if the bluenette had just complimented her. "Well, that just means I'm succeeding, doesn't it?"

The other girl didn't quite have an apt response for that. So she didn't say a word in reply.

But she did let her gaze drift downward some, brow furrowing. _Could_ she stand to lose a few pounds? She had simply never considered it much. Sure, she ate a lot (she lived above a freaking bakery) but her B.M.I sat squarely in the healthy zone.

And yet...

She googled the diet pills, then, in a new tab, looked up current fashion.

Her eyes were drawn, as if magnetically compelled, to images of women. Older women, but not by much. All looked beautiful, outfitted in stylish and expensive clothing.

And all of them... Were thin. Extremely so. She swore she could see ribs and collerbones poking out through one particularly tight shirt. She grimaced, but those images didn't leave her mind, not even when she woke up the next day.

Her mother offered her a buttered croissant. Something in her stomach turned.

_'You could stand to lose a few'_

Her mouth went dry.

"Oh, actually, Alya said she made me something to eat once I'm at school! Sorry!" she lied easily, her cheery smile not meeting her eyes. Her mother's face crinkled in slight confusion before it cleared and she smiled. "Have a nice time at school!"

"Bye, mum!"

Marinette ran.

For some reason, she felt... Heavier today. A passerby glanced at her, and their eyes lingered, and suddenly something in her was certain that they were judging her. Suddenly, the eyes she could sense all around her seemed to bore into her skin.

She felt like everyone must be thinking what Chloe had thought. All of a sudden, she could clearly feel the way her stomach moved, every shift of the fat in her legs.

She kept running. Every step felt heavy and plodding. Too slow. She pushed harder.

She wondered what Adrien must think.

Her stomach dropped. Cold flooded her body.

She went still. A car drove past her, it's lights flashing in her face. Her throat closed up but she couldn't summon the energy to swallow.

What if Adrien thought the same as Chloe?

Her eyes stung, as if salt had been rubbed into them. She managed a tight swallow, fists clenching, hands trembling.

The rest of her walk to school was silent and contemplative, tears beginning to run down her face.

Alya waved.

And she faked a smile; the first of many.


End file.
